1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to sink stoppering devices, and more particularly, relates to an ergonomically designed multi-function sink stopper assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the past several decades, the installation and use of garbage disposal devices has dramatically risen. While these devices provide numerous advantages not attainable by standard sink and drain configurations, they also present numerous additional problems. Most notably, small items such as silverware frequently inadvertently fall into the comminuting chamber of the disposal. If such items are not retrieved before the disposal is activated, the blades of the disposal may be damaged or destroyed. Thus, invention and use of stoppering devices designed to block the entrance to the garbage disposal are known to the public, as such devices prevent items from inadvertently falling into the disposal.
Another significant problem associated with use of garbage disposal devices is that all garbage in the sink must be manually pushed across the sink's surface to the garbage disposal entrance. This forces the user to either dirty their hands to complete the task or else use an item, such as silverware, to scrape the garbage across the sink surface. However, the use of such items may scrape or damage the sink's surface. Thus, invention and use of specialized garbage scooping devices are known to the public, as such devices are used to gather garbage scattered across the sink's surface into a single pile.
Yet another problem is incurred in trying to push garbage through the protective rubber fingers that frequently block the entrance to the comminuting chamber. Again, knives, forks and the like are often used to complete this task despite the fact that they may fall into the chamber and potentially damage the disposal. For a user to effectively eliminate all of these problems, a stoppering, a scooping and a stuffing device are all necessary items. However, it is often inconvenient to store three separate items in the small area surrounding a sink. Thus, there is a need for an improved single device that is capable of scraping garbage from a sink surface, stuffing the garbage into the disposal and stoppering the disposal entrance.
A number of combination sink stopper, scraper and plunger devices have been developed to address this need. One such device has been invented by the applicant and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,390, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The device is a combination sink stoppering, scraping, garbage scooping and stuffing device. The device includes a handle having an inverted U-shape gripping surface. However, it has been recently noted that the curved interior gripping surface of this device coupled with other aspects of the handle design could potentially inhibit users from obtaining the desired mechanical leverage and control while manipulating the device. The scoop portion of the device can also be further improved so that the device can be more effective in scraping garbage across the sink surface.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.